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A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Books – Women & Girls

ACLU Handbook: The Rights of Women and Girls
Documents the court cases and legislation that have brought women closer to full reproductive rights, suffrage, protection from sexual discrimination and harassment, and more.

  • Author: Kary Moss
  • Publisher: ACLU, 1998
  • Grade Level: middle – high school
  • Subject Area: social studies, women’s studies


Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, 2009
Stories of extraordinary women that show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. Shows that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing the unexploited economic potential of the female half of the population. It’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

  • Author: Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  • Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2009
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, women’s studies


Inside this Place, Not of It: Narratives from Women’s Prisons
Reveals some of the most egregious human rights violations within women’s prisons in the United States. In their own words, thirteen narrators recount their lives leading up to incarceration and their experiences inside – ranging from forced sterilization and shackling during childbirth, to physical and sexual abuse by prison staff. Together, their testimonies illustrate the harrowing struggles for survival that women in prison must endure. Lesson plans for Inside this Place, Not of It available from Voice of Witness.

  • Author: Ayelet Waldman and Robin Levi (editors)
  • Publisher: Voice of Witness/McSweeney’s
  • Grade Level: middle school – college/adult
  • Subject Area: social studies


Local Action/Global Change: A Handbook on Women’s Human Rights
Identifies key issues in women’s human rights, define concepts, outline different methodologies for achieving women’s human rights, and offer a wide range of activities to facilitate teaching, learning, and discussion of women’s human rights challenges.

  • Authors: Julie Mertus, Nancy Flowers
  • Publisher: Paradigm Books
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, women’s studies


Meenu: A Story of Girl Power in India
Graphic novels tells of an Indian girl’s struggle to make her own choices.

  • Type: On-line graphic novel
  • Authors: Meenu Rawat and Lydia Holden
  • Publisher: Global Fund for Women
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, women’s studies


Safe Schools: Every Girl’s Right
Reports on the global experience of violence against girls, especially at school.

  • Type: Report
  • Source: Amnesty International International Secretariat
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, women’s studies


Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factor
Summarizes the histories of Chinese, Mexican, and Korean immigration and examines the practices and policies that propel women, men, and children into dangerous and poorly paid jobs.

  • Author: Miriam Ching Louie
  • Source: South End Press, 2001
  • Grade Level: high school – adult
  • Subject Area: social studies, economics


What’s the Big Idea? Women’s Rights
Shows girls and boys how relevant the issue of women’s rights is to them. Introducing the fundamental reasons behind the struggle for women’s rights, it looks at how women’s progress has changed society and discusses the issues that have arisen as a result.

  • Author: Victoria Parker
  • Source: Hodder Children’s Books, 1999
  • Grade Level: high school
  • Subject Area: social studies, economics
We are grateful for the generous support of our members, individual donors, and The Puffin Foundation Ltd
The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.